TFP Official Modding Forum Policy

General Guidelines

Our community of modding is based on the idea of collaborating, sharing, and standing on the shoulders of others to ever improve. It is important that there is respect and honor shown to each other. The following are guidelines for conduct we suggest in order for you to avoid any legal issues and/or any disputes with other members of our forum. Again, these are codes of conduct we hope everyone will choose to follow.

1) Copyrighted work should be used only with permission of the original creator. This includes content from other games, from DLCs, music creators, images found on the internet or from other file authors. Even if you are from a country that does not have copyright laws it is expected that you will seek the permission from copyright owners before using their property in your own mod.

2) All files uploaded should have been created by the uploader or used with permission from the original author of the content before uploading the file.

3) You should always provide appropriate credit when possible to authors who have given you permission to use their content within the file description.

4) If you are collaborating with one or more other users to create a file then you should have a written agreement that is maintained as to who is the original author of what so that questions and misunderstandings do not arise later.

5) If you give your permission to another author for them to use your work within their own modifications then you cannot take back that permission once the other author's file has been released.

6) If you upload your file you should understand that you no longer have control over how it is used. TFP is the sole owner of all derivative content created using their code and files. Also, other users could use your work without your permission. Before uploading your file you should decide whether you can accept these possibilities.

7) If you are using assets and/or tools under a license that you purchased then you are bound by that EULA and should not grant any permissions to others to re-use those assets if that would cause you to breach that EULA. Make sure you understand and abide by all EULA's that cover what you have purchased.

Forum Rules

These rules will be enforced and used to arbitrate disagreements. Failure to comply with these rules could result in the removal of your uploaded file and thread and possibly a permanent ban from the forums.

1) All files uploaded become the sole property of The Fun Pimps as derivative works of 7 Days to Die. TFP offers all mods on its site as open source material and free to download and to modify subject to the following stipulations:

All mod authors MAY CHOOSE to include a personal Terms of Use* as a separate post in the thread featuring their mod. The Terms of Use should list the permissions you are granting with your mod and what permissions you are withholding unless contacted first. Any mod without a Terms of Use in its description will be considered to be open source. Your Terms of Use cannot contradict the rules and guidelines set here.

All mod authors must disclose any tools or assets in their mod that they have licensed. Such licenses only grant the person who purchased them the right to use those tools and/or assets and they cannot give permission for others to re-use them in their own mods.

If a mod has been left inactive for a year and the mod author cannot be reached then any Terms of Use will be removed and that mod will be considered open source.

2) All forum users must abide by the Terms of Use of the mods they download. By downloading the mod you are agreeing to the Terms of Use of the mod author.

3) All threads in the modding forum must be for the purpose of sharing mods, collaborating on mods, learning how to mod, and discussing the hobby of modding. Thus not every thread will have a downloadable file and this is fine but do not create threads to advertise or showcase a server where your mod is used if that mod is not available to be downloaded for use independently of your server. There is a server forum for that.

4) Do not actively solicit for donations. You may include a link in your thread for voluntary donations but no financial sum should ever be required of users to download part or all of your file.

5) Never post off-topic content in another mod author's thread. If you have a dispute handle it through mail and get a moderator involved. Arguing in a mod author's thread disrupts the thread and makes it impossible for the mod author to effectively communicate with his followers. These types of posts should be reported at once.

6) Do not distribute a mod posted here on another website without the mod author's express permission. Mod authors are free to post their mods on other sites, so long as they (i) abide by the conditions set out by those sites, (ii) maintain a link to the mod which can be accessed independent of the other site.

The fact is that TFP owns all the mods as soon as they are uploaded. Period. Mod Authors do not have any control over what they have posted and it is at TFP's discretion how mods are used. As we all know, TFP is very generous and plans to be even more generous in the future with their game and what they will allow to be modified and changed and derived. It is in that spirit that they, in turn, expect all of the mod authors who make use of TFP's code and files to also be generous and allow others to be creative with their work.

However, TFP also expressed a desire to support those who want some measure of protection for their creativity and who might like some say as to how their work is being used (aka The Hitler Principle). Therefore they have decided to allow those authors who feel it is important to do so to set their own permission levels for the use of their mods.

From the feedback we have received we believe that most mod authors will not bother with a Terms of Use statement and so there will really be very little change or impact from what has gone on before. We also believe from what has been said that most if not all mod authors that do want to include a Terms of Use will usually grant permission for their work to be used and to be further modded if they are asked beforehand.

So as long as people remember to be as generous as TFP is in their own work and to be respectful enough to ask first and give credit there should be no problems going forward. Also this places the burden on the mod author to choose his or her own level of permissions and there won't need to be one size fits all permission rule for everyone.

Rule 3

One way to not share your mod is to divide up all your files between server and client and then invite people to come to your server to experience the changes you've made to the game. That is perfectly fine to do but you cannot create a mod author thread in the modding forum to advertise your server.

Rules 4 & 6

Selling the derivative work of 7 Days to Die violates your EULA with The Fun Pimps and cannot be tolerated if it becomes known. Having a small link or button for voluntary donations is fine but that is the extent of what is allowed. Also posting your mod at another site that charges fees is not allowed nor is advertising your mod that exclusive to your server and then charging admission to your server. You cannot monetize your mods in any way. Posting your mod at another site should always be accompanied by a link back to this modding forum where they could also download your mod independently of the other site.

Rule 5

Mod Author threads have one topic and one topic only which is discussion to help downloaders, to report bugs, to collaborate with and help the mod author, and in all ways to promote and enhance the thread for that mod. Any arguments or disputes or accusatory posts are considered off-topic and if reported will result in infractions and bans. We want all disputes handled privately. Period.

Just a list of good behavior suggestions. Some mod authors have a...casual...view of copyright infringement and plagiarism. Sticking an image of a Coke can into your mod probably isn't going to set alarms off over at Coca-Cola and most would probably not think twice about lifting such images off the internet somewhere. We hope that people won't take that same view with the work of their fellow mod authors here in our community. We hope that out of respect for each other you will always seek permission first even if there is no request by the mod author requiring it simply because it is the decent thing to do and is sure to engender good feelings even if the answer is, "Sure, you didn't need to ask" and then giving credit whenever possible.

To alleviate any fears, we as a Moderator staff are not going to police mods for copyright infringement. If we were ever to get a cease and desist letter regarding any copyright infringements (as unlikely as that might be) we would notify the mod author and give him or her a chance to remove the offending material. If unable to get a reply or if the mod author refused to remove the material then we would have to delete the mod and possibly ban the user from the forum.

In other words we will let companies police their own intellectual property if they wish but we will also comply with their wishes should they make a stink. Most likely as long as everyone is following the rules of not monetizing their mods there will be no problems at all and things will go on as they have with no real change.

Terms of Use Clarifications

1) The default setting for the forum is that a mod can be downloaded for any purpose so you do not have to list anything that can be done without your permission. You only need list your restrictions.

2) Your Terms of Use statement must be its own post so that it carries a time stamp of when it was posted. You can link to the post from the OP of your thread if you wish to make it easier for people to find. The most recent "last edited by" date will always be the date by which we will judge when a Terms of Use statement went into effect.

3) Your Terms of Use has no effect on mods created by others prior to the date of your statement. These rules are not retroactive.

I was asked whether the guideline saying that people who upload their mods should accept the idea that others may take their work against their wishes invalidates the rest of the rules.

The answer is no. The guideline is simply a suggested code of behavior. We feel people should be mentally prepared to the possibility that someone will take their work and use it contrary to their wishes. If that is an unbearable thought then you shouldn't post your mod publicly.

The rules state that we will impose consequences on people who ignore the wishes of the mod author and take without permission.

There's absolutely no way to stop people from taking your work against your wishes if they really want to...years of Warez/Torrents/File Sharing/etc. has proven this.

But the fact that there are guidelines for sharing content in the official forums (and I'm assuming that since these are TFPs rules, they extend to the Steam forums for 7Days as well) makes a huge difference as that's where people generally go for content.

Update: changed the wording slightly to emphasize that a Terms of Use statement must be its own post in the thread so that we can determine the date it was posted.

EDIT: Mod Authors, you need to make sure that your ToA is not buried and unfindable in your thread. This means you must either state in your OP that you have a ToA and link to its post or if you have decided you want one you should create a new thread for your mod and make the second post your ToA so that it is easily found. Just PM a mod to have your old thread closed if you do this.

It is not available for download, but you can register for a free account with Envul to use CBSM mod with limited features, or pay a monthly subscription for a "license" to unlock full features of the mod:https://cbsm.envul.com/7-days-to-die-pricing/

This is not a monthy hosting or service fee, which is separate and extra. It is a mod integrated with a web service frontend. This seemed highly suspect, especially when compared to Roland's rules 4 and 6 above, so I looked up the domain registration for envul.com, which is publicly available:https://www.godaddy.com/whois/result...oDaddy&pl_id=1

My question is this: Is Joel Huenink aware that Envul is generating commercial profit off a mod designed specifically for TFP's intellectual property? If so, I hope TFP are receiving proper licensing royalties from Envul. If not, TFP can say thank you to Google and a dedicated 7DtD fan for this information.

If the above details are already known to Joel, feel free to delete this post. Best wishes and may a16 bring many new sales.

If CBSM isn't a mod as you claimed above, then perhaps CBSM should not be in the mods section of the forums? It is highly misleading and a misrepresentation to customers, when third party services are advertised under a false flag.

Regardless, my post is not an attack on yourself or your software (Alloc's fixes are freely available, not content locked behind third party registration or a paywall). Its intent was to bring Joel's attention to a potential loss of revenue, and Roland's to a possible breach of his above modding policies. Please disregard if either is not the case. Best wishes.